The New York Rangers are working on a deal to hire Lindy Ruff as an assistant coach, according to Larry Brooks of The New York Post.
“This is something that they’ve been working on for a while,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said during Day 2 of the 2017 NHL Draft. “The two men met face-to-face in Canada a little while ago to talk it over and figure it out.”
Ruff has been a coach in the NHL in some capacity since retiring from pro hockey after the 1992-93 season, first as an assistant with the Florida Panthers before taking over as Buffalo Sabres head coach prior to the 1997-98 campaign — a post Ruff held for 15 years before he was fired in February 2013. He won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach with the Sabres in 2006.
The 57-year-old’s most recent coaching gig was with the Dallas Stars, where Ruff spent the past four seasons before being relieved of his duties in April after a disappointing 34-37-11 playoff-less campaign.
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